International PhD Seminar in Education | Student Values, Rankings, and Care Practices in Higher Education
The following researchers addressed key issues of the seminar:
Zixue Chen
Lingnan University, Hong Kong
Zixue Chen presented her doctoral research project "Instrumental Rationality, Self-Quantification, and QS Rankings: A Study of the Value Orientations of Hong Kong University Students". The study examines how ranking-oriented governance in higher education shapes students’ learning motivations, career strategies, and social values in the Hong Kong university context.
Drawing on the concepts of instrumental rationality and self-quantification, the project conceptualises students’ growing attention to measurable achievements - such as GPA standings, internship counts, awards, and credentials - as part of a broader process of self-instrumentalisation. The study situates these dynamics within performance-driven institutional environments and highlights how quantifiable indicators influence resource allocation across disciplines, often privileging STEAM fields while marginalising humanities education.
Methodologically, the research adopts a mixed-methods design combining survey research with focus group interviews in multiple Hong Kong universities. The study aims to develop a typology of student value orientations and to connect macro-level governance mechanisms with micro-level identity formation, addressing the question of how students internalise investment-return logics in their educational trajectories.
Tatiana Akuneeva
HSE University, Russia
Tatiana Akuneeva presented her doctoral research “Caring University and the Student Experience,” focusing on the teaching-oriented sector of higher education and the non-economic dimensions of university life. Her study explores how care, mentoring, and supervision are practised in Russian universities, particularly in institutions shaped by teacher-training legacies and small regional communities.
The project proposes a context-sensitive definition of the caring university, describing it as an institutional environment where relational caring coexists with paternalistic, top-down communication and, in some cases, excessive supervision. Based primarily on qualitative interviews collected during field expeditions to former teacher-training universities, complemented by survey items embedded in a larger student survey, the research documents patterns of faculty engagement in curricular support, extracurricular life, and informal counselling.
The study argues that in settings where formal student support services are limited, faculty often assume additional roles as mentors and personal advisers, which may strengthen students’ well-being and socialisation but can also reinforce hierarchical “parent–child” dynamics. The research highlights how these practices are shaped by institutional history, Soviet legacies, and the social profile of student populations, including first-generation students and students from rural or lower socio-economic backgrounds.
Discussants
Expert commentary was provided by Dr. Anna Smolentseva, PhD (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom), and Daria Platonova, Research Fellow at Constructor University Bremen (Germany). The discussants reflected on the conceptual frameworks, research design, and empirical contributions of both studies, highlighting their relevance for current debates on student values, institutional cultures, and governance in higher education.
Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge
Research Associate, Constructor University, Bremen
